


Promethea's Twelfth Best

by whatthefuckisasweep



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Atlas CEO Rhys, Basically tales but katagawa gets the rhys AI and wants to be evil, Rhys AI AU, and rhys tries to persuade him to be good, for everyone, i'll add more tags as the story continues on, katagawa has an inferiority complex, this will have a happy ending i swear, vault opening
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-01-26 15:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21376339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatthefuckisasweep/pseuds/whatthefuckisasweep
Summary: Katagawa Jr.'s idol died in a war with Hyperion.At least that's what he thinks until a hologram version of him begins to live in his mind.
Comments: 23
Kudos: 49





	1. Katagawa Jr.'s Plan

Katagawa Jr. looks between his father and his hand. A shiny drive is planted between his thumb and index finger, held tightly in his shaky grip. As his eyes dart back and forth with a nervous haste, a Maliwan clock on a nearby wall ticks unseen burdens. 

_ Tick. _

“Oh, Junior. You wouldn’t dare,” The CEO says calmly. His body language is relaxed, but his eyes are sharp and sweltering. His fingers tap on top of his desk rhythmically. “You wouldn’t dare.”

_ Tock. _

Katagawa Jr. matches his father’s icy stare with his own. He’s never been one to back down from a fight. “What makes you say that?”

“It’s in your blood, Junior. You’ll always be twelfth best. You can’t outrun Maliwan, and you can’t outrun me. Mess with authority,” The CEO adds an edge to his voice. “And you’ll get what’s coming.”

The clock seems to hold its breath in anticipation.

Not a single molecule moves. 

Time holds still. The barcode on Katagawa's neck feels like it burns.

_ Tick. _

Katagawa takes one last breath, a bitter sneer forming across his rough features. He raises the drive to the port on the side of his head.

“Oh, I know I will.” 

Before he can even think of the consequences, the drive is already in his head. Everything feels electric for a second.

Then he blacks out.

* * *

When Katagawa Jr. finally comes to his senses, all he can hear is an insistent ringing in his ears and the everlasting ticking of the  omniscient  clock on the wall. Taking a moment, he opens his eyes with a groan. As they focus, he realizes that he is staring at the bland wall of his father’s office, not a foot from where he was standing last. Glitches from his ECHO eye rebooting pepper his vision, but he promptly ignores them. He needs to get out of here to execute his plan as soon as possible. He knows for a fact his other siblings are already plotting to take his well-deserved throne. Getting up slowly, Katagawa takes one good look around the office, which is still kind of blurry. He checks for a trace of the CEO. His father is nowhere to be seen. Gradually, the ringing in his ears and his cloudy vision subsides into a mundane normality. However, the damn clock is still ticking relentlessly, taunting him with its unseeable eyes. It’s kind of pissing him off.

Katagawa Jr. walks over to the dusty thing hanging on the wall, and, without a second thought, pulls back his fist. Smashing it to little pieces would surely teach it a lesson and end his annoyance. Right as he’s about to release his inner fury, though, he is stopped by a voice.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Katagawa pulls his fist back in no time, glancing around the room anxiously. 

“Dad?”

However, instead of his towering father emerging from the dark corners of the office, a slim light blue figure manifests itself in front of his eyes. He has slicked back hair, an ECHO eye similar to his own, and an undeniably dashing mustache. Katagawa would know that face anywhere.

“Oh come on, I don’t look  _ that _ old, do I? I know I’ve gained a few, a few, a few, ah, wrinkles, but that’s not- I’m in my early 30s, thank you very much.”

Speechless, Katagawa Jr. simply stares. 

“Oookay. Well, now I’m uncomfortable. So, um, nice office you have here. Very, uh, spacious. Nice view, pretty lights, all that fun stuff. Could use a bit more red, though.”

“You’re...” Katagawa begins.

“Handsome? Amazing? Smart? Powerful? A great hacker? Oh! Oh, no, wait, let me guess it. Don’t give me a hint! Legendary?”

“Rhys,” He ends, still in awe. “Rhys Strongfork. Previous CEO of Atlas Corporation.”

“In the flesh!” Rhys hesitates. “Or, ah, I guess, digitized hologram.”

Katagawa can’t believe his eyes and ears. “I ... I thought you died after the war with Hyperion.”

“Well,  **real ** me did. But me me is a back up plan created by real me in order to make sure that if real me died then me me would still be able to run Atlas the right way, just as a cool hologram version of myself.” Rhys suddenly looks confused. “Ah, so, wait a second -- how did a little Maliwan manager like yourself get a hold of me?”

“I’m head of mergers and acquisitions,” Katagawa states matter-of-factly. “Way above the average manager.”

“Right, right. I had one of those,” He begins pacing back and forth, playing with his robot arm. “David? No, no, no… Dan! Dan something. Cool guy. Made great donuts for me- What was I saying?”

Katagawa opens his mouth. 

“Oh, yeah. How the HELL DID YOU GET FULL ACCESS TO MY ATLAS SECURE HARD DRIVE?! That thing was protected under 3 firewalls and a secret passcode only I would know!”

“Well, obviously,” Katagawa puffs his chest out proudly. “I hacked the firewalls myself. Your company went to hell after the war, and I’ll admit I was more than a little devastated. We would’ve made a great team, you and I. Before Hyperion could get their greedy little hands on the data from the ruins, I quickly went in and picked out the drive, among some other… artifacts.”

“Artifacts??? You kept some of my stuff?”

“A lot of it, actually. I wouldn’t let it all go to waste. I studied your methods and technology, Rhys. You were incredible.”

“Why, thank...!” Rhys begins. Then he does a double take. Katagawa’s port and ECHO eye are eerily familiar. “Wait-- Studied?!”

“Yes. I was inspired by your ingenious idea to install a port and ECHO eye, as you can see. I’m also in the process of getting a robot arm similar to yours! It costs a fortune, but it’s well worth it. It would make me the perfect specimen as the new CEO of Maliwan. That way, Promethea can be all mine. I’ll show everyone who’s in charge, then.”

Rhys blinks, nervously laughing. “Haha.. This is all, uh, all really, um, flattering… but I think it would be best if you just, you know, returned me back to the drive and installed me into something more… human?”

“No, no, no. Don’t you see?” Katagawa shakes his head, a wicked smile growing. “I can use you as an asset! Together, we can take over Maliwan from the inside out! With your knowledge, it’d be extremely easy to take down the rest of my siblings.”

“Take down--?! Rest-?!”

“We'll open the Vault! With that kind of technology, we could remake Atlas again and merge it with Maliwan, creating the ultimate powerhouse. We could rule together!" He smirks, his voice darkening. "...And, then, once that’s done, _we can cut my dad’s throat._ Watch him bleed out on the floor as he sees how much I've accomplished."

“Woah, woah, woah! Can we-- Uh,  _ not _ do that? There’s gotta be a better way to do this! You know, a way where you don’t brutally murder your family?”

But it’s too late now. Katagawa is already making his way out of the office, ignoring Rhys’s concerned tone. The latter has no choice but to float along next to him, being carried along by the components of Katagawa’s mind.

“I’m just trapped in a corporate sociopath’s mind,” Rhys mutters to himself. “Of course. Just another normal Tuesday for Rhys Strongfork, CEO of Atlas Corporation.”


	2. Clock's Ticking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To execute his plan, Katagawa has to get to his office first.

Katagawa Sr. is eating dinner with a manager at Tediore. He has a splitting headache and his food is getting cold. He would rather be dealing with other matters, like how to get his insane son to hand over the priceless information currently in his brain. 

  
“Mr. Smith, I’m afraid this deal isn’t going to work out.”

  
“We can try something else-” The young man desperately replies. He clearly hasn't been in his position for long. No one talks like that to Katagawa Sr. and gets away with it.

  
“No.” The CEO gets up. “I think we’re done here.” 

Mr. Smith follows, placing a hand on his shoulder. “But sir-”

  
Without hesitation, Katagawa Sr. pulls out his Maliwan branded pocket pistol and shoots the man straight in the stomach. 

  
“Don’t touch me.”

  
As the manager crumples to the floor, he shoves him over with his foot. 

  
Another piece of trash that Tediore has to deal with.

  
Now, back to other more important matters.

* * *

When Katagawa and Rhys reach the end of the hallway that is supposed to lead to the Mergers and Acquisitions office, they hit a problem. Actually, make that two problems. Two turrets are facing them, beeping angrily. With facial recognition software, they automatically lock onto Katagawa’s easily recognizable face. 

  
“Look out!” Rhys yelps, covering his face and cowering into himself.

  
Katagawa quickly turns around and hides behind the corner from where he came. His father obviously wouldn’t make it so easy for him to escape! How could he be so stupid? “Dammit! The turrets!”

  
“Mmhm!! Yep, I’m alright! Thanks for asking!” Rhys floats around the corner, clearly shaken up. 

  
“You can’t be hurt, you’re a hologram!” Katagawa exclaims, peeking around the corner. He begins scanning the turrets with his ECHO eye. “Dammit. Bulletproof!”

  
“Oh, yikes!!!! Guess… Guess you can’t really kill your family now, right? Jeez, that’s just, wow, just terrible. Time to go back and give up, maybe? Doesn’t that sound a lot better than getting shot at??”

  
“No! Can you hack the turrets, Rhys?”

  
“I…” Rhys thinks. “Don’t know? Can I?”

  
“You don’t know?!”

  
“I’ve never really tried it! This is all new to me! I’m sorry that I don’t know everything about my incredible breadth of capabilities!”

  
“Just try it!”

  
“Okay, okay!”

  
Rhys hesitantly steps out from around the corner and raises his arm at the turrets. Katagawa squeaks as he unexpectedly follows Rhys’s movements to a tee, putting himself directly in the line of fire with his arm extended. He tries to move back, but he can't.

  
“What the--!”

  
Before he can figure out what's going on, the turrets start beeping loudly. Closing his eyes tightly, Katagawa waits for the sharp pain of bullets to rip through him.

Instead, he is met with a loud chuckle of triumph. 

  
“Holy shit!! I _can_ hack them. That is so sick! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! Atlas tech is just the best!”

  
Katagawa lets the breath he was holding go. He looks over at Rhys angrily. “What the hell was that?!” 

  
“What was what?” Rhys turns around to face him.

  
“You just- You just took over my body.”

  
“I… did… not mean to do that?”

  
“What do you mean you didn’t mean to do that? How could you possibly do that on accident?”

  
“It’s- maybe it’s a side effect?”

  
Katagawa shakes his head. “Whatever. Let’s just get into my office. And _don't_ do that again.”

  
Rhys just now realizes that he just helped the murderer get a step closer to murder because he wanted to know if he could hack stuff. “Yeah. Not. Not planning on it.”

  
Katagawa walks towards his office and places his palm on a scanner to the right of the bright double doors. They open quickly with a futuristic click. 

  
“This is my office,” He proclaims proudly. “Where I developed my plan to use the Atlas hard drive I found to take over Maliwan. But using you will be a much faster route, especially now that we know you can use your digital self to hack into things.”

  
Rhys is too busy staring to respond or pay attention to whatever Katagawa is going on about. The dark blue walls are lined with posters of him, several of which are signed. Some of his old things, like his old robot arm and even a picture of Sasha that used to reside on his desk, are placed neatly in illuminated glass cases in the corners of the room. It’s really unsettling.

  
“Whoa, uh. Haha..hah.. Well. That’s… awfully a lot of me.” 

  
“Yeah,” Katagawa steps over to his desk, decorated with a sword hanging above it. Large windows behind him give him a full view of Promethea’s city skyline. “Helps me think.” 

  
“It’s really great to know I was a, uh, contributing factor in the decision to kill your whole family with no mercy whatsoever. Really great, honestly.”

  
Katagawa sits down and opens a drawer, taking out a blueprint and blowing the dust off of it. With careful hands, he unwraps the old wrinkled old paper.

  
“Don’t act like you’ve never hurt anyone. Your kill count is _brutal._” Rhys shudders at Katagawa’s admiring tone. “Of course, you had others do the work for you because you were the CEO, but, all in all, your corporate carnage will still be much, much more than mine.”

  
“I didn’t want to start the war. Hyperion came after me first. It’s not like I had a choice.” 

“I don’t either.”

  
“What? What do you mean you don’t--? You don’t have a choice?” He runs a hand through his hair, stressfully toying with his arm. “Amazing! You’re crazy! Well, this is just. Just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?”

  
Katagawa stays silent. His eyes don’t leave the blueprints. “I need you to help me with something, Rhys.”

  
Rhys plops himself down on top of his desk next to the blueprints, exasperated. “What is it? What can you possibly want from me now?”

  
A smirk grazes the future CEO’s lips. 

_“...You like lasers, right?”_


	3. Path to Destruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who is Rhys? Who is Katagawa? The world may never know.

If you asked Rhys what he wanted to be when he was a child, he’d respond “a CEO” or something like that. If you asked him what that meant and entailed, he would respond with something along the lines of “selling stuff and being cool”. 

If only he could go back and tell his younger self how wrong he really was. Owning a company was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it was a dream come true. On the other, however, it was a constant threat to his relationships, mental health, and personal safety. Those Hyperion bastards were consistently after his technology after he cracked a Vault and left their company with his friend Vaughn. Vasquez, the new CEO after Handsome Jack, pestered him with untrustworthy deals and even tried sieging his headquarters. As a result, he had to be ready at all times. Checking the clock, making holograms of himself, leaving hints to find him if he disappeared, creating secret rooms and codes - he swears he’s done it all just so his precious company wouldn’t fall. And now that it has, he’s got to do everything in his power to get it back. 

But if he’s going to do that, he needs to get out of this guy’s head successfully. That means he’s gotta stick to his plan until he can find a way out. 

“Did you get that, Rhys?”

Interrupted, Rhys’s brain attempts to play catch-up to what Katagawa just said. “Uhhh. Yes? Yes, yes. Something about... Lasers? And a yacht?”

Katagawa rolls his eyes. He imagined Rhys to be a lot more… suave and powerful. Right now all he’s shown of himself is a fear of turrets and the inability to comprehend basic speech. “You’re going to help me hack into Maliwan’s secret death laser. We’ll use that to blow up some buildings - distract my dad for a bit - so we can gain access to the Zanara without him knowing.”

“The what?”

“The Zanara. It’s his private pleasure yacht that he bought with Maliwan’s company funds. Its rooms are a mess, but I’ve been on it enough times now to know where he hides the Vault Key.”

“Vault Key?!”

“You’ve opened one before - it isn’t that surprising,” Katagawa says, a little irritated at Rhys’s astonishment. 

“Oh, God.” Rhys feels like he might faint. “No, no, no, no. We are not doing _ that _ again. No way. No Vault Key business.”

“What do you mean?” Katagawa gets up from his chair, pocketing the blueprints of the Zanara. He seems a little irritated. “You’re _ the _ Rhys Strongfork. You defeated a Vault Monster all by yourself, you collected the loot, you even escaped Hyperion. And you’re cowering at the thought of a little Vault now?”

“Ohohohoho! “Little Vault”? You have no idea what you’re talking about. This? This is gonna kill you, which, if you haven’t noticed already, will kill me in association-”

“I’m willing to take my chances.”

“What is wrong with you?!” Rhys practically yells as he propels himself off the desk, his voice raising several octaves. The measly manager flinches. “Why are you so obsessed with killing your family? And why are you even after the Vault Key?! If you idolize me so much, just take a look at what opening a Vault got me! I’m dead now if you haven’t noticed!”

Rhys notices the other man’s tenseness. Strangely, he looks like a child that has just been called out for not sharing their toys in kindergarten. He sighs.

“It’s not _ fun _ being a CEO. It’s a big commitment. You have to throw away everything else in your life just to run your company. Your relationships and friendships; your happiness; your health; even your safety. Trust me, this is a bad idea.”

After a moment of silence, Katagawa looks down and balls his fists at his sides.

“No, Rhys. _ You _ don’t know what you’re talking about. My family - My dad - they aren’t who you think they are. At Maliwan, all employees are branded at birth with barcodes signaling our positions in the company - our numbers. Everything is done by tradition and rankings. I was told my whole life that I’m just another asset to this company. I was told that I was just another number. That I'm the worthless one. That I’ll always be last. And you know what, Rhys? I heard your story. How you went from a Hyperion data-miner to a powerful CEO all on your own. How you didn’t care about what anyone assigned you or what others thought about you because you had dedication and strength and power. And I was _ inspired _. I thought you were the greatest person to ever exist. Because you were what I wanted to be. I want to show all of them what you showed me. I want to show them that the Maliwan tradition doesn’t matter. Fuck the family name, fuck everything it stands for. I am going to **run this place**. And nothing is going to stop me. Not my dad, not you, and certainly not the idea that I might die. So, if you know what’s best for you and you want to get out of my head and take your company back too, I suggest that you help me out. Deal?”

Rhys blinks, taking in all the information. 

“Please, Rhys." He begs. "You’re all that I have left.”

“Look,” The CEO begins, pinching the bridge of his nose. Katagawa knows what’s coming next. At least he can say that he tried. “...If I’m going to help you, I should at least know your name.”

Rhys mentally berates himself. _ He’s such a goddamn softie! _ But he knows if anything goes too badly he can fix it with his hologram powers. The second that the Maliwan guy lies or does something atrocious he can take over and stop. And the promise of the return of his company is truly compelling. So he’ll play along for now.

Katagawa’s eyes widen with hope. His voice trembles slightly. “Katagawa Jr. But just call me Katagawa.”

“Alright, Katagawa.” Rhys stretches his back a bit, as if getting ready to run a race. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… Where’s that giant death laser you were talking about?”


	4. Awkward Silences and Demolition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katagawa Sr. is on his way to get some information out of his son's head. His son is on his way to destroy half of what he owns.

Katagawa Sr. steps out into the crisp Promethean air. The skyline is bustling with flashy neon lights, but he feels nothing but a dark worry. After Atlas had fallen, Maliwan had collected most of its assets. His son, who found a hero in Atlas’s eccentric CEO, got to keep a lot of the items they excavated. At first he didn’t understand his son’s obsession but he did nothing to stop it. It seemed so minute and irrelevant compared to all the other issues he needed to actually worry about. After all, Katagawa was the runt of the litter; he wasn’t really a threat.

He scowls as he walks towards his headquarters. He should’ve never underestimated a rebellious brat.

  
Although Hyperion had taken most of the biggest technologies directly after Rhys’s death, they left behind souvenirs of the Atlas office that obviously appealed to the aspiring manager. In their process of digging up old things that were previously owned by Strongfork, the Maliwan soldiers, ordered by Katagawa Jr., found something incredible: a thumb drive. The soldiers sent it back to Maliwan, and Katagawa Jr. celebrated his victory. He told his dad everything excitedly, hoping to gain importance to his father. Maybe even a promotion.   
Maliwan had been holding on to a Vault Key for a while now. It was somewhat of a family heirloom that was passed down with the intent of getting the next batch of better, stronger children to figure out how to charge the darn thing. So far, none had succeeded. So, when the supposed next best son found out the news from his own twelfth child, he forcibly confiscated the drive. Katagawa Jr. had already cracked the firewall, and, surprisingly, entered all the correct passwords to get through. However, when Katagawa Sr. opened up the drive on his Maliwan state of the art technology, nothing showed up but a bunch of lines of indecipherable code. It was unbearable. They were so close to cracking the case. _He_ was so close to cracking the case.  
But then while he was on a business call, his son yanked the drive out of his desktop. It was all downhill from there. He plugged it into his goddamn brain, the fucking maniac. And now, all that priceless information that could make or break Maliwan was in his head. The dumbest head in the whole damn family.  
While the idiot was passed out cold on the floor, he had to attend a business meeting, so he made sure to set up a few turrets to lock the bastard in. That way, when he got back, he could_ ... interrogate …_ for a few answers to some questions about the Vault that were undoubtedly held in that precious thumb drive. Then he could figure out how to charge the damn key and open the Vault.   
Katagawa Sr. makes his way down a familiar path back to his headquarters, but something doesn’t seem quite right. It seems to be a little too bright out for this hour of the night.

* * *

As Rhys follows Katagawa down another lengthy hallway, he finds himself angry at the absolute number of hallways in the Maliwan building. Who let that happen? This place needs to be a lot more evenly spaced. Also what is up with the decorum? God, this place is hideous! Green and orange? Who thought of _that?_ Passing by a crooked framed picture of some sort of gun blueprint (that looks super stupid), he attempts to fix it to no avail. His hands simply slip through the frame as if he was a ghost. Annoyed, he rolls his eyes and he moves on.   
Since they’ve got a bit of awkward silence going, he supposes it’s the perfect time to speak up, considering he wants to know a little bit more about this Katagawa guy and what’s up with his whole situation.   
“So,” He walks at a pace to match the other man’s.   
“So, what?” Katagawa replies, distracted by the walls ahead of him.  
“So… you’re obsessed with me because you think I’m super cool for opening a Vault as, uh, a shitty Hyperion worker?”  
He blushes a bit. “I, er - I wouldn’t use the word obsessed.”  
“I would.” Rhys comments, flexing his digital robo-arm. “I mean, your whole room is, is, is, ah, basically me-themed. Kinda creepy. More than kind of. I mean, I like being your whole inspiration and all, but, maybe tone it down?”  
Katagawa’s eyes are looking everywhere but at Rhys. He doesn’t say a word. Is he offended? Thinking? Nervous? Embarrassed? Man, this guy is hard to read.  
“Okay, okay, okay. Maybe it isn’t that weird. It kind of reminds me of myself when I was younger - little younger than you.”  
Katagawa’s eyes are still glued on the hallway in front of him, but his lip visibly twitches. Rhys can’t tell what that’s supposed to mean.  
“I’m being serious!” The hologram exclaims. “You know Handsome Jack, right? Maaaaaan, that guy was my favorite person EVER! Turns out he was, ah, ah, a huge dickwad. Yknow? But I guess it was fine. It was fine until I Vasquez showed up and he demoted me. And when I opened the Vault-”  
Katagawa looks over, a fire burning in his eyes. “How do we activate the Key?”  
So much for being friendly. All this guy wanted to do was talk business. “Well- uh, it’s, ah, you need… I’ll tell you when we get to that step. It’s kind of complicated.” If Katagawa doesn’t know the next step, there’s still a possibility that Rhys can escape before it and Katagawa won’t fuck up the universe.  
“... Fine. But you’re going to have to tell me soon because we’re almost at the laser room.”  
“Right.” He pauses. “Just one more thing, ah, real quick.”  
“What?”   
“This isn’t going to kill anyone, right?”  
“Not intentionally. It’s meant to distract. But there may be some byproducts.”

* * *

Katagawa Sr. hears something in the distance. Something very familiar, but very sharp. He looks to his right to see a large ball of light in the sky emitting from his Maliwan headquarters.

* * *

After hacking into the door easily, Rhys is now in a control room of sorts. Buttons and switches line the walls and blink in overly complex manners.   
“You’re asking _me_ to learn how to work _this?_” Rhys gawks.   
“No, I’m asking you to hack it. There’s a difference.” Katagawa plays with a projected map on a large computer that is facing away from a giant window that displays Promethea. “We’re going to target his private buildings first. Once we destroy enough, we’ll take a Cyclone to the Zanara and sneak in. He’ll never suspect us being there while all that is going on.”  
“Uh-huh. So you’re putting me in charge of a super scary gigantic abnormally powerful immediate death laser? Great, great idea.”  
“We’ve gone over this, Rhys!”  
“Alright, alright!” With a glow of an ECHO eye, Rhys is breaking into the laser’s core code. It’s pretty simple stuff. Oh, Maliwan, you cute little idiots, you. “Got it working.”  
“Okay, Rhys. Location’s locked! We’re firing the gun manufacturing site. I’ll countdown and you can fire!”   
“Oh boy. Okay, oh-”  
“Three…”  
“You’re star-”  
“Two.”  
“Starting, okay okay okay, I got this!”  
“One.”  
Rhys holds his breath. He can back down from this. But he decides not to. It’s only buildings. And besides, they’re ugly ones. And the CEO is a raging douchebag.  
“Fire.”

* * *

The light grows and grows and grows and oh god it’s coming right at him. Katagawa Sr. ducks out of the way as a beam flies above him, cutting into the Maliwan gun factory. He curls up to protect himself. A few silent moments pass by as if nothing happens, and he looks up to see a fire in his products beginning to start.   
“What the absolute fuck?!”  
He looks up at Maliwan headquarters.  
Junior! Of course. Of course, it’s Junior. It’s always him.  
The spoiled fucking brat is really going to get it this time.  
Before another laser beam can strike, he gets to cover and pulls out his phone, dialing a well-worn number.   
“Hello? Number 4? Bring in the soldiers to the HQ! Now! Our laser’s being hacked by one of our own! Stop him before it’s too damn late and all our assets are gone!”  
“Yes, sir.” The woman on the other end replies sadly. “Yes, sir.”


	5. Number 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katagawa has a sister.

Naoko Katagawa is anything but coldhearted. 

She just follows the rules.

Everyone knows what Maliwan is about. Murder, greed, and power. That’s it. 

She must have no feelings about this. It’s just the way that things have always been and always will be. Maliwan needs to be powerful. _Her father_ needs to be powerful. Then, they can take over Promethea and rule the galaxy. That’s what everyone wants to do these days, and they are the ones to do it. That was always the plan.

Naoko lets out a long sigh. 

She puts on her dark blue siege helmet, turning around restlessly in her swivel chair. The helmet has seen better days. The deep scratches on its surface indicate her experience and persistence; they show her past mistakes not only as Number 4, but as Naoko Katagawa. It’s kind of shameful. Her eyes wander to the top of her shiny desk that she worked so hard to get. Somehow, it doesn’t seem worth it.

A button that might as well be labeled ‘doom’ waits in anticipation. Naoko considers her options for a moment. Lowering a reluctant hand, she decides to do what she has always done: follow the rules. The button clicks down when she presses it. It feels broken to her finger.

“Send extra troops to Maliwan HQ immediately and set the whole building on lockdown. If you see Number 12...” 

She hesitates for a moment, touching the back of her neck where a Maliwan barcode was branded seconds after her birth. 

“Shoot him on sight.”

* * *

“Okay, we gotta move!” 

Katagawa sprints from where he came, grabs a Maliwan pistol on his desk, and makes a break for the fastest route to the Cyclone garage. When he bolts past the turrets, he makes sure to double check the blueprints and the thumbdrive are in his pocket securely. He can’t leave those behind now. Not when there is so much at stake. 

His plan is finally about to come true. He can’t fail now.

All those hits he took, all those insults, all those years of degradation? What will they all mean when he rules the company? What will anyone be able to say to him? They’ll cower and tremble in fear at his sheer power. He’ll be like Rhys! He’ll command the army! He’ll break down the doors to anyone’s house! He’ll destroy other companies and laugh as their employees beg for mercy!

All because he is  _ powerful _ ,  _ strong _ , and  _ important _ .

He can’t wait.

After a few more corners, Katagawa stops in front of the door to the Cyclone garage, panting heavily from his panicked sprint. Still doubled over, he brings up a hand to place on the nearby bioscanner and waits for the familiar click to signify his entrance. Instead, the scanner flashes an angry red and displays a lock.

“Access den.. Ohohoho you gotta be kidding me,” He grumbles. “Rhys! Hack the door, will you?”

Silence. 

He looks over his shoulder. No one is there, digital or otherwise. 

“Rhys?!”

** _Fuck._ **

That lying bastard! 

That cheating son of a bitch. 

He said he would help! He said he would-

“I’m here! I’m here! Just- ah- thought I’d look around up there for a few seconds and not… not distract you.” The hologram manifests itself again in front of the door.

“Don’t do that!!” Katagawa growls, eye twitching. “Hack the fucking door, Rhys!!!”

Rhys flinches at the yelling. “Alright, alright! I got it!”

He places his hand up against the door and hacks it in the weird way that he does. With a nice soft click, the door flings open to Katagawa’s relief, revealing a pitch dark room. Squinting, Katagawa takes a couple of steps into the void.

When the shuffling of his footsteps is detected, the lights automatically turn on. The large bright LEDs cover the garage with a blinding white essence. Sleek Maliwan colors line the walls, and several Cyclones sit on pads, ready for usage. 

Katagawa turns to Rhys. “They’re on lockdown. They know we’re here. We have to do this quick.” 

The manager grabs a black helmet from a nearby shelf and puts it on, preparing for the high speeds he’ll be traveling at. It is dented in all the wrong spots, and has a small number 12 printed on the front. It fits perfectly. 

Katagawa remembers when he first rode a Cyclone. He fell so many times, but he kept trying and trying and trying and trying until his palms were shredded and he had no tears left to cry. He vividly recalls his dad comparing his premature skills to his sister’s already masterful riding ability. 

Number 4. She was always so perfect. Always better than him. _An obstacle._

The sound of distant voices calling snaps him out of his trance. 

Maliwan voices. 

“Shit,” He curses, mounting Naoko's Cyclone. “They're here!! Quick, Rhys, unlock the damn garage!”

Rhys flops his arms around for a second before making his way to override the garage’s lock system. “Oh- Yep, okay, uhuh, pressure! I work well under that!” 

“Just shut up and do it!” He hisses.

Rhys does as told, trying to keep calm and take down the firewall. Katagawa revs the engine on the Cyclone, ready to slam pedal the hardest he can once the garage is open enough to fit him.

The footsteps are getting _closer, closer, closer…_

“Rhys!”

“I’m trying! I’m trying! Hold on! A little bit of- ah- and some of- annnnnnnd...” Rhys jumps as the garage starts opening with a loud metallic groan. “Bingo!”

But it’s too late. 

The footsteps are at the door. 

“Got him!” The guard yells, alerting the others and raising his gun. “Freeze!”

“Can’t look!!” Rhys squeaks, covering his eyes and disappearing.

Time stops. 

The garage opens slower and slower.

The guards rush in at a snail’s pace.

Katagawa can only feel his heart pounding and hear his ragged breathing.

He watches as the garage hits the threshold that permits the Cyclone to pass under it without popping off his head and...

** _He steps on it._ **

Bullets whiz by his head delicately, almost hypnotically. A slag here, an incendiary there - he swears he can see them all. He even thinks one hits his shoulder. He can’t feel it, but if this is the way he dies, then at least he’ll be satisfied knowing he went out a fighter. 

That he had some purpose. 

That even though he was useless to his father, he was of some worth to himself. 

* * *

Naoko hides in the shadows of the Promethean alleyways she knows so well. Taking a deep breath, she looks up at the night sky and ponders. Naoko has always been one to follow the rules - it’s what made her one of her father’s favorites. Hell, he even named her after the Japanese word for “obedient”. 

But 12 couldn’t say the same, could he?

He had always had a flair for the dramatic. He always questioned authority and fought back. He always thirsted to be the best because he was told he couldn’t. Everything that she didn’t dare to do? He did it. It always got on everyone’s nerves. 

And after all these years, he’s never changed. 

Naoko knows him better than anyone. 

Inside, he’s a scared child who is afraid of being weak and inferior. A child that was taught and trained to not feel. A man that has never known affection, trust, compassion, or friendship. A man who wants to prove his worth, but is deathly afraid of his own identity. 

When she thinks about it this way, she can’t blame him for wanting to kill their father. In fact, she really admires his spirit and dedication. 

Naoko has always been one to follow rules.

But rules, she says to the sky, are meant to be broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, everyone! I had a really busy week, but I actually LOVE how this chapter turned out and I can't wait to write the next one! :) Hope you enjoyed it.


	6. In Which Katagawa Jr. Passes Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just like the title says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait, I've had a lot of motivation issues and writers block. Hope you enjoy the chapter. I swear all this plot is going places!

Katagawa speeds along the narrow Promethean roads, his heart pounding. He knows that the Maliwan troops won’t be far behind. Pushing the Cyclone to its limit, he hits the gas harder. 

“Whoa, whoa- Slow down, Katagawa!” Rhys appears next to him, floating against the zooming landscape. If this was under different circumstances, the blending of the beautiful neon colors would be freeing. Instead, they warn Katagawa to go faster.

“Not now, Rhys!” He growls. “We have to make it to the Zanara to get the key. They’re going to be right behind us if we don’t hurry. There’s a back entrance to the-”

“No, no, I mean slow the hell down, you’re bleeding out! And if you’ve never taken basic health class, you die when you lose all your blood! And if you die, then it’s over for the both of us, remember?! No Atlas, no Maliwan takeover, no dead family!” 

Suddenly, Katagawa’s mind registers the pain in his shoulder - pulsing, sharp pain. The bastards really did get him, didn’t they? Well, he’s just going to have to get it to stop bleeding when him and Rhys get to the Zanara. There’s no time to waste.

“...It’s just my shoulder! We’ll figure it out when we get to the yacht!” He yells over the roaring engine. 

“What if you don’t make it? What then?! You need to stop and-”

“Shut up!! You’re not helpiiiAHHHHH!”

The Cyclone takes a sharp left into an easy-to-miss alleyway and brakes to a stop with a loud skidding sound. Katagawa flies out of the vehicle, rolling several times on the ground and letting out several pained yelps in the process. Dust and smoke fill the air as Katagawa’s mind dances with pain, the landscape around him swaying with dizziness. 

“What the hell, Rhys!” Katagawa hisses, his eyes stinging with dust and his shoulder pounding. “You said you wouldn’t do that again!”

Rhys looks at him in shock, wide-eyed. “Um. That. That wasn’t, that wasn’t me.”

“Then who the hell--”

A soft voice breaks through the cloudy air. “Katagawa?”

The small, bleeding figure backs against a corner helplessly, fishing the Maliwan pistol out of his pocket. The only person who could have access to the Cyclone like that would have to be Maliwan personnel. He points his pistol blindly into the air, shaking a bit. “Stay back, I’ll shoot!”

“Katagawa, are you alright?” A short figure emerges from the dust, an unmistakable Maliwan helmet reflecting what little light there is in the alley. Katagawa aims for her head immediately, knowing exactly who it is. She only looks down at him in worry. “I heard from father that you blew up the gun factory. Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on?! Who are you talking to?”

Katagawa’s grip on his gun doesn’t falter. Even in such a vulnerable situation, he is unwilling to trust anyone but himself - much less his family. Despite his shaky demeanor and growing weakness, he maintains a steady tone. “None of your business, Number 4. Now unlock your Cyclone and let me leave, or I’ll shoot you. Get out of my way.”

She shakes her head and raises both her arms defensively, eyeing Katagawa’s bleeding shoulder. “I don’t have a weapon. I tracked my Cyclone and came here to check on you, I swear on it. Just tell me what is going on with you.”

“You can put down the gun,” Rhys interjects. “I’ve scanned her for weapons. She’s trying to help you.” Katagawa looks up at Rhys, but doesn’t budge. 

“Please,” She begs. “Let me help you. You know I don’t like father any more than you do. I’m tired of following his rules. I don’t want you to die in the hands of Maliwan, Katagawa. Too many have fallen because of me.”

“And how can I trust you?” He sneers. “You’re his favorite.”

She presses a button on the side of her helmet. The ECHO crackles to life. 

“...General? Is there any sign of him?” 

“Katagawa’s down at Meridian.” She says coldly. “Send the troops there. If you see him, make sure to shoot him on sight.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” The voice replies. Then the line goes dead. 

Katagawa stares at her for a moment in silence, suspicious eyes weighing the pros and cons. The world is starting to get foggy on the edges and the pounding of his shoulder becomes demanding. Finally, he lowers his gun. 

“...The second you break my trust, you’re dead.” 

Naoko sighs in relief. _Number 12. _Always so ruthless, always so coldhearted. 

But her brother nonetheless.

She crouches down and peels off his bloody overcoat. Katagawa inhales sharply as she pulls back his dress shirt to reveal a heavily bleeding shoulder wound. His head feels like it’s full of air. 

“They got you deep, Kat. I’m going to take you to my hideout, patch you up there.” She picks him up surprisingly easy. Katagawa had always been skinny, but for some reason he felt much lighter than before. Did he really lose that much blood from a measly shoulder wound?

“No,” Katagawa mutters out, shaking his head weakly. Anything but that. He had a plan! He needed to do it  _ now _ . He tries to say something on the lines of ‘let go of me’, but nothing seems to come out. Instead, the world around him swirls into an inescapable blur and his eyes droop against his will. The last thing he sees before he passes out is Rhys’ and Naoko’s looks of worry, much to his annoyance.

* * *

“Dammit!” Katagawa Sr. exclaims as he pounds a fist angrily on his desk, ECHO phone in the other. There is no way that he could disable the turrets  _ and _ gain access to the laser. There  _ must _ be something in that drive that he doesn’t know about hidden in the damn drive. “No trace of him?!”

“No,” Naoko replies over ECHO. “It’s almost like he disappeared.”

“Find him. Find him, Number 12. He stuck the drive in his head. Something’s in it. Something valuable.”

“You’ve got it, father.” She looks down at her brother in her arms, eyeing his port with a weary look. Her eyes travel down to something in his overcoat pocket. A worn piece of blue paper. “You’ve got it.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Rhys is trapped inside Katagawa’s mind. Without a consciousness to host himself in, he is unable to sense the outside world and has no idea what is going on. So, instead of pondering over things he can’t control, he decides to ponder over what the hell just happened. Apparently, Katagawa has a sister, and she’s a general at Maliwan. Rhys replays the scene in his mind. She had no weapons and was clearly non-threatening, yet Katagawa didn’t lower his weapon. What kind of brother does that? Why was Katagawa so insistent on shooting his own sister for the sake of opening a Vault? Back at Atlas, everyone treated each other with respect to the best of their ability. They were a family. Rhys knew all his employee's names. He tried his best to be the boss that he wanted to have when he was younger. Betraying Zer0? Lorelei? He could never dream of it. So what made Maliwan different? Why was Katagawa pointing a gun directly at someone of blood relation who was clearly trying to help? Why did they brand their employees? _Why did they do things with death lasers?_ Rhys knows the answer to all these questions, but he decides not to think about it. It reminds him too much of his older self. And his Hyperion life doesn’t matter.

What matters is that Katagawa doesn’t die, so he has another chance of coming back and rebuilding Atlas. And to do that, he needs a plan. First, he needs to hop out of this body. He knows he promised Katagawa that he would help him open the Vault, but he can’t Vault Hunt in this vessel. If he's going to be honest, Katagawa is weak and frail. It’s obvious his pampered body wouldn’t be able to handle a fair share of blows, unlike his own thick plated skull. If he dies during the endeavor, which is highly likely, Rhys is gone forever. Besides, Katagawa is too reckless. All he cares about is opening that Vault. 

_ Just like you did _ A voice in the back of his head insists. _Just like when you went to open a Vault yourself?_

Rhys shakes his head. He's nothing like Katagawa. He barely even knows him! And he isn't the same person anymore. He's grown and learned. Atlas is his only goal now.

So how does he get out of the body? Well, Katagawa did mention something about the Zanara holding the Vault Key. Once they get on the ship, he can possibly coerce Katagawa into plugging his port into the ship to allow him to gain access… then he’ll be able to control the ship and send a distress signal to Zer0. Zer0, who is definitely still alive. Because they are super badass.

Rhys nods to himself. 

Perfect. 

Now all that he needs is Katagawa to wake up so they can hack out of wherever the sister is taking them and get on the road to the Zanara.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first post on AO3, so I hope you guys like it! :D


End file.
